Wyoming National Guard honored on House floor; General recounts Antarctic medevac

CHEYENNE — During floor proceedings on Feb. 12, Major General Greg Porter, the adjutant general of Wyoming, addressed the House to recognize members of the Wyoming National Guard and describe recent missions that illustrate the Guard’s state and national roles.

Major General Porter highlighted the Guard’s evolving role as both a combat reserve and a domestic response force. He told the chamber that the Guard answers calls when “mother nature threatens our residents” and described deployments, training and disaster response work in Wyoming communities.

Porter recounted a dramatic recent medical evacuation tied to Operation Deep Freeze. He described how a civilian contractor at McMurdo Station suffered a cardiac arrest and that, "for more than 35 years, no 1 had survived a cardiac arrest and subsequent evacuation from Antarctica, but this time was different." He credited Guard medical and aircrews — including Major Nate Krueger and Master Sergeant Lindsey Glotfelty — with helping stabilize and evacuate the patient to Christchurch, New Zealand, where surgery followed and the patient later walked out of the hospital.

The adjutant general also recognized junior officers and crews who had deployed and performed difficult missions overseas and at home, and he encouraged legislators to read the Guard’s publication "Cowboy Guard" to learn more about service members’ work in communities across Wyoming. The speaker and members of the House thanked Porter and the Guard personnel present in the galleries.

The recognition was given near the start of the House’s workday and preceded extended floor business focused on an ethics investigation motion and subsequent committee scheduling.